The first color Toku broadcast two weeks before Ultraman, Ambassador Magma is based on the manga by Osamu Tezuka. It was later turned into an anime.
The series revolves around a family of robot-like beings who are called upon by an Earth boy whenever a giant monster appears initiated by Goa, a space alien. The one summoned by three whistles is the eponymous Magma, who fights the monsters, but a lot of screentime is spent with Mamoru hanging out with Magma's "son" Gam investigating before calling on Magma to finish the job.
The dub of this series was known as The Space Giants. It cut minimal scenes but still changed names. For example, Magma became Goldar, while the wizard Earth, who created Magma and his family, became Methusa, after the 900-year old man (Methusaleh) in The Bible. The opening was not kept, but the music within the show, including uses of the famous theme tune, was.
An animated OAV was produced in 1993 which retold the story.
Ambassador Magma provides examples of the following tropes:
- The Kid with the Remote Control: Mamoru summons Magma and his family with a whistle.
- Monster of the Week: Subverted somewhat in that the monsters are used multiple episodes, like a serial.
- Robot Hair: Magma/Goldar is a "living giant" forged from gold with long gold hair. His normal-sized, human-looking wife and son are also behaired, but it's less unusual on them.
- Transforming Mecha: Possibly the Trope Maker. Magma/Goldar is capable of transforming into a rocket. His wife Mol/Silvar and his son Gam (created by the wizard Earth as a copy of Mamoru) can also transform into much smaller rockets, even though they normally look much more human than Magma.
- There Are No Adults: Goa's apparent motivation for his invasion of Earth (or so he says) is to make a literal world where this is in effect and children can be happy. Okay, but...
what happens when the kids grow up?
